theliterateleprechaun's Reviews > The Chef's Secret

Before Julia Child, Emeril Lagasse, Giada De Laurentiis, and Mario Batali…there was Bartolomeo Scapi.

Scapi is the Renaissance culinary genius who probably fed Michaelangelo when he was working on the altar wall in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican. He was the private chef to four popes and the author of one of history’s best-selling cookbooks, L’Opera. When it was published in 1570, it instantly became the world’s best-seller for the next 200 years. Author Crystal King tells of his nephew and apprentice, Giovanni, setting off on a quest to unravel the truth about his uncle and the fifty-year love affair that Scappi hid from the world.

As you get caught up in helping Giovanni unravel the secrets held in his uncle’s journals, you’ll appreciate King’s vivid description of Renaissance culture, the role and impact food and the culinary arts had on this time period, and how status at birth determined who you married. You’ll love the theme of secrets and legacy and agree that she’s stuffed this novel with everything you’d expect from a book set in the Renaissance: duals, poisonings, and trysts. The mystery and the coded sections will hold your interest for the duration. Above all, you’ll agree that King has enveloped you in a culinary masterpiece and tantalized you with the recipes and descriptions of food fit for a pope.

Known for her food-enhancing fiction, King has now tantalized me with two novels that tick all the boxes:

✔️historical fiction
✔️set in Italy
✔️focused on food
✔️forbidden love
✔️mystery


This epicurean delight is sure to enrapture the senses and must be on every foodie’s TBR list!

I eagerly await the wild gothic novel featuring Salvador Dali and his wife Galla due out next year. In the meantime, I’m enjoying looking at Scappi’s renaissance recipes for pomegranate sauce and pumpkin tourte!